The Rowan

Anne McCaffrey

The Rowan was found after her entire community was killed in a mudslide. She had been saved and her telepathic shouts alerted everyone on Altaire that she was alone and frightened. Once she was found she began learning for her future when she would be grown.

As a powerful telepath, Rowan is a prime talent, one who can use telekinesis to move spaceships and carriers from planet to planet. It is through this method the Nine Worlds can stay together. When she is grown, she is assigned to the Tower on Calisto. There she is able to work for and help FT&T, the telepathic and telekinetic business group. Yet she is lonely. The few powerful male telepaths have little interest for her, or in her. When the newest frontier planet, Deneb, is attacked by aliens, she finds herself helping attack and thwart a race that would destroy the plnet and the humans living on it

Originally this story was a short one that can be found in Get Off the Unicorn, and has become part of a series. Other talent stories also reviewed in these pages are Pegasus in Space and The Tower and the Hive. I enjoy this complete series and recommend them highly. McCaffrey has another superb group of books in this telloing of the Talents' stories.

The Rowan
Damia
Damia's Children
Lyon's Pride
The Tower and the Hive

The Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey